2018 Maryland General Assembly Preview

The 2018 Maryland General Assembly begins on the second Wednesday of the new year.

The 438th session of the Maryland General Assembly begins tomorrow and Baltimore City is certainly on the agenda. Governor Larry Hogan announced a plan to appoint an investigator to look into what he described as corruption, mismanagement and ineptitude in some Maryland school districts. This comes after the announcement of $2.5 million dollars in emergency funding to restore heating to many Baltimore City public schools.

The new federal tax overhaul could mean more revenue for the state. How to spend it is a point of contention. Democrats say they have enough votes to pass their version of paid sick leave After threatening to “take the knee,” The Legislative Black Caucus is confident that their bill to increase diversity in the medical marijuana industry will pass. Rachel Baye covers Maryland politics for WYPR. Erin Cox is The Baltimore Sun's State House bureau chief, they join Tom for a preview of the 2018 General Assembly.

Correction note: Medical marijuana businesses are not limited to being cash only. Severn Bank in Annapolis is one of the first banks in the state to allow medical marijuana businesses to open accounts. Read the Baltimore Sun's story.